closed windows

Airaa's POV

ding dong! ding dong! ding dong!
I was in the kitchen busy cooking when I heard the doorbell ring. I turned the gas off and went to open the door.

Much to my surprise, it was salman standing with my aunt Sabiha right in front of me. Oh geez! I quickly wiped my face with my hand which was covered in flour.
I lifted up my eyes to salman who was laughing at me teasingly. Damn! I made a complete joke out of myself.
I turned my attention to aunt Sabiha and greeted her while giving her a platonic hug. Aunt sabiha gave me a kiss on my forehead and asked me how I was doing.
"I am doing awesome and amazingly well, how about you?" I extended. "I am doing good". she responded.

I told salman and aunt Sabiha to come on in. Aunt Sabiha looked very tired, I told her to freshen up and showed her to her room. Salman carried her bags to her room and I went back to the kitchen to make tea for salman.

I was boiling the tea whilst immersing myself in Salman's thoughts. Oh shit! the tea boiled over. I hurriedly turned the gas off and cleaned it. I strained the tea leaves while pouring tea into a
mug from the teapot. I didn't even realize when I started liking Salman so much.

I went to the living room and headed towards the couch on which Salman was seated. My breath quickened as I got nearer to him. Salman's eyes lit up as I served him with tea. I avoided eye contact as much as I could and walked swiftly back to the kitchen.

I cleaned up all the mess in the kitchen and went to my art room to paint. I furrowed my eyebrows whilst giving a thought to what I should paint. I took a brush and started painting an acrylic lavender field.

Just as I was about to give my painting a finishing touch, I felt a presence of someone behind me. I quickly turned-around and saw that it was Salman. "oh! it's you salman!", I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Airaa, your face is smeared with paint." said Salman. He came closer to me. I bit my lip and glanced away. Salman hesitatingly rubbed his finger on my cheek where the paint was smeared. "it's dried up, let me go bring a tissue." he said. He swiftly went to the kitchen and brought the tissue. As he was wiping out the paint from my face, I looked deep into his eyes and fell more in love with him.

"I love you Airaaa, I love you so much!! I have been loving you since childhood and I can't anticipate my life without you. Will you marry me? I will talk to uncle Mohsin when he comes back but I want your consent for this marriage first." said Salman.

I gasped in surprise! "aaa aaa aree yyy you ssssse serious?" I said while stuttering."of course I am." he replied. with a huge smile on my face i said "YES" turning away as I answered. He started jumping out of happiness.

"Airaaa!!! Airaaa !!!" aunt Sabiha called out my name. I was just about to leave when Salman held my hands and said "I am leaving for home and I will come back when uncle Mohsin is home to talk about our marriage." I smiled shyly and went to attend to aunt Sabiha.

Aunt sabiha told me to make a cup of tea for her since she was having a terrible headache from travelling a long distance. Salman came to bid aunt Sabiha adieu. I went to the kitchen, Salman followed me to the kitchen by making an excuse of feeling thirsty and wanting to drink water. He stared at me while I was preparing tea for aunt Sabiha. "I long for the day you will come to my house as my wife and cook for me like this in the kitchen." said Salman. I blushed and said "you still have to wait a bit for that day."

"Ahem." Faatimah teasingly coughed. "Aunt Sabiha is calling you." she extended. "her timing is superb since childhood." angrily said Salman.
"Salman, be careful in front of her. She must be thinking we look for excuses to be alone." I said. "
"okay, but I didn't see her coming. why are you always worried about what she might think, you care for her and not for me." said Salman.
"it's not like that Salman, I care for you a lot." I said.
"it is like that Airaa." said Salman while leaving angrily. I followed him to the garden outside my house. "Salman wait! why are you leaving angrily?" I asked. "Airaa you love Faatimah very much, right?" Salman asked. "Yes of course, she is my one and only sister." i said. "so you love her more than you love me?" Salman asked.
"what kind of a question is this Salman, the love I have for you and the love I have for Faatimah are both completely different, why are you mixing them up?" I asked. " Because I wanted to know my significance Airaa, I can't bear any kind of love to come between us whether it's the love for your father or for your sister." Salman said and flounced off. I was left speechless.

to be continued.....

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